Fresh Air Weekend: Jason Isbell, 'Cuckoo's Calling,' 'Orange Is The New Black'

Jason Isbell was previously a member of Drive-By Truckers. His solo albums include Sirens of the Ditch and Here We Rest.

Eric England
/ Courtesy of the artist

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Originally published on July 20, 2013 11:58 am

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

Jason Isbell Locates His Musical Compass On 'Southeastern': The singer-songwriter earned a name for himself while playing with Drive-By Truckers and The 400 Unit, but on his new album — written after he got sober — Isbell finds a new level of emotional honesty. Here, he talks with Terry Gross about his life and plays songs from Southeastern.

The Only Surprise In Rowling's 'Cuckoo's Calling' Is The Author: After "Robert Galbraith" was revealed to be the pen name for J.K. Rowling, many readers have been circling back to a "debut" novel they'd initially overlooked. Critic Maureen Corrigan says the mystery is respectable, but she will shelve it in the "I've read worse, but I've read better" category.

Laughs And Drama Behind Bars With 'Orange Is The New Black': Netflix recently unveiled its newest exclusive series: Orange Is the New Black, created by Jenji Kohan, who also created Weeds. All 13 one-hour episodes of the first seasonareavailable for streaming, and David Bianculli says the show is another Netflix success.